Several supply-chain vendors indicated in the past two weeks that Apple, the world's biggest company by market value, lowered fourth-quarter iPad orders 25 percent, the first such cut that analysts at JPMorgan’s electronic manufacturing services team in Hong Kong said they have ever seen.

I suppose this would be the signal that the recession really is here and headed for a depression.

did someone forget to tell europe that all their banks are going to blow up very soon?

Good question, my take is that Mr Market has leapt to a couple of conclusions.

Firstly that the uber ESF complete with leverage is going to be used to support/bail out banks - I think the spectre of Nationalisation has receeded somewhat, as this would wipe out/mkassively dilute existing equity holders. The action this morning suggests that the leveraged/enlarged ESF will backstop the banks and that this must be `good`. Resultant Sovereign downgrades be damned.

The second assumtion appears to be that the IMF is already softening up the constituents of its members to expect to be making contributions to the next round (spain, Italy, Portugal & Ireland) fairly soon. The conclusion seems to be that it is `game on` the taxpayers of the world or going to get the bill.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's military will not take action against a militant group Washington blames for an attack against its embassy in Kabul, despite mounting American pressure to do so, a Pakistani newspaper reported on Monday.

The United States will have to consider all options "including defending our troops" in confronting Pakistani support for militant networks fighting U.S. soldiers in the region, a senator said on Sunday.

"We need to put Pakistan on notice," Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican member of the Armed Services Committee said on "Fox News Sunday."

"It destabilizes Afghanistan. They're killing American soldiers. If they continue to embrace terrorism as part of their national strategy we're going to have to put all options on the table, including defending our troops."